Young girl holding a sugar cane in Jamaica (INF 10/149)
Between 1948 and 1970 nearly half a million people left their homes in the West Indies to live in Britain. The West Indies consists of over twenty islands in the Caribbean, including Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad. These people changed the face of modern Britain. They were all British citizens and although they had never lived in Britain before, they had the right to enter, work and settle here if they wanted to.
West Indians came to Britain for many different reasons. Some were seeking better opportunities for themselves and their children. Some came to work for a while, save money and return home. Some had been recruited because Britain was short of workers to run the transport system, postal service and hospitals. Other West Indians were returning soldiers who had fought for Britain during World War Two (1939-1945).
Look at Source 1 a, b & c.
1. These photographs were all taken in Jamaica around 1950. They show the way people on the islands were used to living.
Look at the photographs carefully and answer the following questions :
Look at Source 2 a, b & c
2. These photographs are of London and Leeds and were taken between 1946 and the 1960's..
Look at Source 3
3. This is one of the pages from the passenger list of the Empire Windrush, a ship which brought people from the West Indies to the UK.
Read Source 4
4. This is a report on conditions for black people living in Stepney, East London from 1949.
Look at Source 5
5. This is a report on Negro migration in Britain by Eric Walrond 1947-1948
6. Now imagine you are one of the passengers who came to Britain on the Windrush. Write a letter home to your family in the West Indies describing how people are treating you and what Britain is like compared to home.
Not all white Britons welcomed the black Britons. Many found that the colour of their skins provoked unfriendly reactions. For example, despite the desperate shortage of labour some West Indians still found it difficult to get good jobs. Often they were forced to accept jobs which they were over-qualified for, or they were paid less than other white workers.
West Indians also experienced difficulties in finding suitable places to live. Since few had much money, they had to find cheap housing to rent near to their workplace. This was often in the poor inner-cities. Even if they did have enough money to rent better quality housing, Many had to face the fact that some landlords refused to rent to black people. They would be confronted with insulting signs in house windows that said ‘Rooms to Let: No dogs, no coloureds’. This meant that a lot of West Indians were forced to rent homes in the most rundown areas.
In 1958, in areas where bigger numbers of West Indians lived, there were outbreaks of violence against them. In particular, in Nottingham and London mobs of white people attacked black people in the streets, smashing and burning their homes.
West Indians had been invited to come to Britain, so they also felt that it was their home too. To be discriminated against was a shock which they had not been prepared for. Some returned to the West Indies, but many remained - despite the difficulties they faced. They have worked hard and made a contribution to British life.
Moving Here
(1721.74kb)The documents included here only show a very partial glimpse of the life experienced by West Indians during this time. Pupils will have many other questions. Teachers may wish to ask their pupils to write a list of questions they would like to ask one of the people in the Windrush passenger list if they were available for interview.
Other activities that are possible on the theme of immigration or multi-cultural Britain are:
Teachers should bear in mind that the documents and the vocabulary used are of their time and as such care should be taken to make this point to pupils and to stress the appropriate vocabulary to use.
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